The 2013 Dine Out Vancouver Festival will run January 18 to Feburary 3 all across Vancouver, BC. Hundreds of restaurants will participate in the event and each will offer unique three (or more) course prix-fix meals at $18, $28 or $38 per person. Many will pair their meals with British Columbia fine wines and craft beers.

Nearly 70,000 diners are expected to reserve online for the Dine Out Vancouver Festival, with many more making reservations by phone or in person, so now is the time to reserve your accommodations. Why not pair your fine dining experience with the equally fine Greater Vancouver lodging of our member bed and breakfast inns?

Dine Out Vancouver Festival Features the Finest Restaurants in Greater Vancouver, BC

239 Vancouver restaurants are scheduled to participate in the Dine Out Vancouver Festival, including Hawksworth Restaurant, the Vancouver Restaurant of the year! (more…)

The 2013 PuSh Festival, a signature winter performing arts event in Vancouver, BC, returns for its ninth season January 15 through February 3 at venues all across the city.

Vancouver is one of British Columbia’s primary cultural centers. Groundbreaking productions and performances are the hallmark of this festival, so come with an open mind to experience international, regional and Vancouver artists presenting cutting edge displays that bend genres, blend disciplines and offer unique artistic visions. In addition to the live performances, attendees and artists alike can also enjoy the film festival, artist talks, an opening gala, and much more.

Attendance for the 2012 season was 23,376 with 4 of 5 seats sold on average and 31 sellouts, so it is recommended that you purchase your tickets and make your Vancouver BC lodging plans now. To make the most of your stay in Vancouver, we recommend our member bed and breakfast inns. (more…)

This year's Celebration of Light fireworks festival will showcase international competitors from Vietnam, Brazil and Italy.

The 22nd Annual Celebration of Light fireworks festival will brighten Vancouver’s evening skies starting at 10:00 PM on July 28 and August 1 & 4, 2012.

This year’s event, the biggest in the Greater Vancouver area, is expected to draw over a million total spectators over the course of the three nights, so you will want to reserve your lodging well ahead of time.

The spectacular pyrotechnic shows, which began in 1990, have grown to become the largest off-shore fireworks competition in the world.

Vancouver locals and visitors alike gather at English Bay, Sunset Beach, Vanier Park and other vantage points to watch the skies light up with professionally choreographed fireworks displays, each synchronized to an inspiring music soundtrack simulcast on Shore 104.3 FM. General admission is free and paid VIP passes are available.

The competitors at this year’s festival hail from Southeast Asia, South America and Europe.

Team Danang has presented numerous stunning firework shows for over 20 years for events such as National Day, Lunar New Year celebrations and other important events and festivals in Vietnam. Although they are experienced in international competition since 2008, this is the first time Team Danang has competed outside their home country.

Brazil: Group Vision Show

Pirotecnica Soldi has produced world class handmade firework displays since 1869 and, in addition to regular shows in Italy, regularly competes internationally in locations ranging from Cannes to Montreal and London.

Votes will be collected online and the Celebration of Light winner will be announced on August 6. (more…)

The lights are bright, the streets are packed, and the restaurants are full…then you realize you are in the city of Vancouver on the weekend. Not just your average weekend holiday, but a trip to one of the world’s most beautiful cities in one of the most visited provinces in Canada. With winter coming to an end, and the spring flowers beginning to bloom, the city of Vancouver is one of the most spectacular places to visit. Whether you are looking to take in the arts and culture district on Commercial Street, or experience a Vancouver Canucks hockey game at Rogers Arena, Vancouver is a city that offers something for all tastes.

When you are on a vacation, the mornings are relaxing and the days are enjoyable, but the evening activites are most memorable. And Vancouver never leaves anything unexplored. With over ten theaters within minutes of downtown Vancouver, and professional hockey, baseball, football and soccer teams playing year round, there is always an activity to take part in when the sun goes down. The Orpheum, the Orpheum Annex, the Queen Elizabeth Theatre, the QET Plaza and the Arts Club Theatre are a great example of what the arts and culture community of Vancouver have to offer. Whether it be a ballet, rock show, or live theatre, the arts enthusiast will never be left to ponder what could have been.

But when the lights go down and the streets become vacant, your Vancouver accommodation is the more important part of your weekend get-away. With 16 Bed and Breakfasts within the city of Vancouver, and a number of other fantastic options available in the outlying communities, finding a comfortable and relaxing BC Innkeepers Bed & Breakfast to stay in will not be an issue. Not only are there many options available, but some of the best Bed and Breakfasts in Canada are just a walk away from the magical streets of down town Vancouver.

Yes gentlemen it’s that time of year again, Valentine’s Day. And as much as we tell our friends it’s not a big deal, and that we don’t make dinner reservations and just go with the flow, we all know this is not the right thing to do. But what exactly should you do this year on that special day? Well if you either live in Vancouver, or are looking to spend a romantic weekend in this beautiful city, there are plenty of options to share with your loved one.

Of course if you want to start off on the right track you’re going to need flowers and chocolate, and with a number of florists and chocolate shops all over the city this should be easy. But what about preparing your own chocolate delight? Well that’s easy too, all you need is some good cocoa, a bit of sugar, salt, milk and whatever else you desire to mix with this magical indulgence. And when you’re looking for flowers, it always adds a nice touch when you are able to build your own bouquet, just don’t get caught picking flowers from your neighbour’s garden!

Once you have given your significant other their lovely bouquet of flowers and chocolate treat, make sure to book your private horse drawn carriage ride around Stanley Park where you can take in the wonders of the Totem Poles, Third Beach, Lost Lagoon and all the other romantic attractions in one of North America’s best parks. And if a horse drawn carriage ride isn’t your cup of tea, then how about a stroll around the 8 kilometer Stanley Park Seawall along the ocean front, where you can take in one of the Pacific Ocean’s stunning sunsets.

And when it comes to the most important part of the day, dinner, the city of Vancouver offers a wide variety of exceptional dining options. Whether you are craving Italian, Indian, Northwest, Seafood or just Dessert, you will find what you are looking for. Just make sure to book your reservation early, the same goes for booking your Vancouver Bed & Breakfast stay to provide the perfect ending to your magical Valentine’s Day date.

On April 6, 2011, the City of Vancouver, British Columbia, celebrates the 125th anniversary of its incorporation. “Celebrate Vancouver 125” will start with a free birthday party on that day at Jack Poole outdoor Plaza, around the Olympic cauldron. Festivities start at 2 pm with a street hockey tournament and will include music, food, street arts and video art, and special performances and ceremonies. The Olympic cauldron will be lit and there will be a VERY big birthday cake!

In addition to its 125th anniversary, Vancouver also celebrates this year as Cultural Capital of Canada. “Summer Live” will showcase Vancouver’s vibrant arts scene with a free multi-stage celebration in Stanley Park from July 8th through the 10th, drawing on the city’s contemporary creative arts scene, First Nations heritage and its multi-cultural diversity. Dozens of other cultural organizations will be showcasing special events throughout the year to add to the celebrations.

As part of the celebrations, the Vancouver Heritage Foundation is asking Vancouverites to nominate 125 ‘Places that Matter’, where plaques will be mounted celebrating people, places and events that helped to shape the City of Vancouver.

The beginning of Vancouver started with the establishment of a sawmill and then the growth of the settlement called Gastown, around which a townsite called Granville grew. The city incorporated as Vancouver the same year the transcontinental railway arrived on the west coast. Its natural seaport soon became a major link in the trade route to the Orient, and the city started growing.

Vancouver, British Columbia, celebrates 125

Today, the City of Vancouver is an exciting, multi-cultural, modern city in one of the most beautiful locations in the world, on Georgia Strait and the Pacific Ocean and overlooked by the Coastal Mountains of British Columbia. It has ranked highly on a worldwide list of “livable cities” for numerous years. There is so much to see and do around Vancouver, you’ll never run out of ideas: walk the seawall in Stanley Park; visit the Vancouver Aquarium, Gastown, or the Museum of Anthropology at UBC; explore the markets and boutiques at Granville Island; go boating up Burrard Inlet or take in an NHL hockey game at Rogers Arena; smell the flowers at Queen Elizabeth Park or the VanDusen Botanical Gardens; admire the Emily Carr collection at the Vancouver Art Gallery. They say that in Vancouver you can ski in the morning and go sailing in the afternoon!

Make sure you spend at least several days in this city which hosted the 2010 Winter Olympic Games and book your Vancouver Bed & Breakfast accommodation before you come! Your hosts will be a fountain of information of all the wonderful reasons why Vancouver is the special city that it is.

Ah, its that time of year again when the student population gets a week long reprieve from school and a bit of vacation, and parents go nuts thinking of fun things for the family to do. We’ve muddled through January and February and are a bit winter weary, yet the ski slopes beckon and the days are getting longer every day! If you’ve looked at heading for Florida or Honolulu but just can’t see spending all that money on air fares and don’t want the hassle of security checks and long lines for a one week getaway, why not be a tourist right here in B.C.? There is fantastic skiing throughout the province; wonderful attractions everywhere you go; world class dining from Courtenay to Cranbrook, Vancouver Island to Prince George. Why not be a tourist in your own town or another part of BC?

Here we live in the most beautiful place on earth so let’s explore it before the summer tourist season and the crowds arrive.

Downtown Vancouver and the local mountains

BC Ferries offers Coast Saver fare rates during spring break, so visit Victoria, the seat of our provincial government, and see where the politicians decide how best to pick your pocket. While you’re there take in a 3D Imax movie, visit Miniature World or the Royal BC Museum. If Vancouver is the place for you, take the family to Science World for a day of wonder and great memories or visit the aquarium and explore Stanley Park. Visit Vancouver Island or Nelson, the wine region in the Okanagan or Hope and the Othello Tunnels, explore the Fraser Valley or the many lakes in the Kootenays, or go cross-country skiing in the Cariboo and the North. There are so many fascinating places right in our backyard!

To make certain the family is comfortable and gets a healthy breakfast you’ll want to book a great Bed & Breakfast in BC. When you make your reservations with one or more of BC’s Bed and Breakfast Innkeepers Guild members, you can ‘Rest Assured’ your comfort is our first priority, plus we’ll be able to share with you all the great places to go and things to do right in our neighbourhood!

What’s casual, funny, sometimes sad, frequently sexy and always terrific? Shakespeare performed al fresco at Vanier Park in Vancouver throughout the summer. Play venues are on Vancouver’s waterfront, in open-ended tents against a spectacular backdrop of mountains, sea and sky. The Mainstage Tentseats 520 patrons and offers two productions staged in repertory from end of May through September. The 240-seat Douglas Campbell Studio Stage was added in 1999 as a venue for the lesser-known plays in Shakespeare’s canon or innovative stagings of his greater works. In addition to its Shakespeare productions, Bard offers many complimentary cultural activities including opera concerts and specialty workshops and forums. The tented ‘Bard Village’ offers a range of guest services including concessions, bar and boutique. Tickets go fast so be sure to visit Bard on the Beach as soon as possible for a complete list of plays. This season’s offerings include Much Ado About Nothing, Anthony and Cleopatra, Falstaff and Henry V.

Plays were a bit delayed in starting due to some tent troubles, but are up and running now and continue through September 25. Vancouver has so much to offer but Bard on the Beach is certainly one of it’s most enchanting attractions. For an enchanting Vancouver accommodation be sure to book a great BC B&B too!